Was the audience at the Sanders / Fox News town hall random Fox viewers or people who already like

[Quixote1818]

Sanders? I googled a bit but could not find anything. If that was random folks then holy crap Sanders is resonating far and wide! If not and they were Sanders supporters who went because they like Sanders, then it probably doesn't mean much.

Anyone know?

[VarryOn]

1. When it was coming on, they said...

It was filled with Dems, Reps, independents, old, young, avowed socialists, etc. My sense was there were quite a large number of Bernie supporters in the audience. He had a very favorable audience.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

3. Yeah, Fux probably rigged it for Bernie... that splainz why he kicked royal azz!!

Last edited Wed Apr 17, 2019, 09:08 PM - Edit history (1)

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Blue_Tires]

34. You do of course realize that Faux News viewers only love St. Bern

because they want him to play spoiler and splinter Dem turnout again, right?

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

35. You do of course realize that Bernie WILL be our next President, right?!

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Blue_Tires]

37. Sure, right after I flap my arms and fly to the goddamned moon...

Oh, and while we're making wishes I also want to marry Krysten Sinema...

Sanders had a golden chance and he (or at least his campaign strategists) fucked it up... His time is over -- Nobody has bothered to tell him yet. The field of candidates is too young, too fresh and too diverse.

[Cha]

2. There's an OP about it here..

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1287&pid=72826

[R B Garr]

9. Oh goodness, that sure does make this all look like fake news now, lol.

It was full of Bernie supporters, so the noise about Republicans cheering Bernie is just plain fake. They were outside with MAGA / build a wall signs. This is tiresome. Great link, Cha.

[NurseJackie]

13. WOW! (and ELL-oh-fuckin-ELL)

Amazing.

I've been talking to people waiting outside the Bernie event. It's largely Bernie supporters

Not surprising at all. Just what I expected. Total fake news. Staged and manipulated.

It's unclear to me what Bernie's supporters are CROWING about.

I also recall when other stalwart liberals and progressives did interviews or segments on Fox News and they were RAKED OF THE COALS by Bernie's hardcore supporters... but when Bernie appears on Fox news, the only thing from his supporters is praise and adoration.

Strange. Actually, I think there's a more accurate word, but I can't think of it right now, so that one will have to do for the time being.

[lapucelle]

58. That BS muppet hoodie is so on fleek...

...that it's almost fetch.

[ehrnst]

69. Echo chambers can be very exciting for people looking for

validation that their opinions are "universally" held.

I also recall when other stalwart liberals and progressives did interviews or segments on Fox News and they were RAKED OF THE COALS by Bernie's hardcore supporters... but when Bernie appears on Fox news, the only thing from his supporters is praise and adoration.

dou·ble stand·ard
/ˈdəbəl ˈstandərd/
noun
a rule or principle which is unfairly applied in different ways to different people or groups.

[Snotcicles]

4. I watched the whole thing. He did great. The best part was it reached 20 million viewers. nt

[crazytown]

18. 20 Million Viewers? Try 3

As per Fox: An estimated 2.55 million people saw Sanders' town hall Monday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

36. Did great??... Bernie kicked FUCKIN' AZZ!! Gave RethugliKKKons a "third-degree Bern"!!

Now watch all the other Democratic candidates play "follow the leader" and go on Faux News after Bernie has shown them the way.


Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[ehrnst]

70. Yes, viewers...

[YOHABLO]

5. Well it was televised on 'their' channel. How to figure out who watched it would take another poll.

[TexasTowelie]

6. Live blog replay from the Allentown Morning Call:

https://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-nws-live-bernie-sanders-town-hall--20190415-zkz7s4t3x5dq7j2cbti6dznojq-story.html

[TexasTowelie]

7. Another article from LehighValleyLive.com

https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/elections/2019/04/bernie-sanders-faces-lively-audience-in-bethlehem-town-hall.html

[Skya Rhen]

8. An attendee, Mr. Nassar, said he and 70% of the audience were Bernie supporters

Nassar, who was born and raised in the Lehigh Valley, said afterward he didn’t think America should intervene in foreign affairs unless it directly effects our national security.

“I do believe he is America first,” Nassar said of Sanders.

Nassar said he voted for Sanders in the 2016 primary, and was open-minded coming into Monday night’s event. He estimated about 70 percent of the audience was supportive of Sanders.

A crowd of Donald Trump supporters gathered April 15, 2019, outside SteelStacks in Bethlehem, ahead of the Sen. Bernie Sanders town hall. (Sarah Cassi | For lehighvalleylive.com)
lehighvalleylive.com

A crowd of Donald Trump supporters gathered April 15, 2019, outside SteelStacks in Bethlehem, ahead of the Sen. Bernie Sanders town hall. (Sarah Cassi | For lehighvalleylive.com)
As attendees walked toward the SteelStacks building, Trump supporters greeted them with Trump 2020 flags and signs including “Build the Wall” and “No Sanctuary for Criminals.”

[R B Garr]

10. Great info, thanks. 70% of the audience were Bernie supporters.

As figured, actually. Republicans would not be cheering like Bernie supporters at a Bernie townhall. LOL.

[Tom Rinaldo]

15. He didn't say that.

What his quote says, which was given after the event ended, was

"about 70 percent of the audience was supportive of Sanders."

There is a literal difference between Sanders supporters and supportive of Sanders. The latter could be his estimate of how the crowd responded to the Sanders presentation. In other words they were mostly supportive. For example, on "Medicate for all". If 70% of the audience was supportive of the argument that Sanders made in favor of "Medicare for All" that does not equate to 70% of the audience being Sanders supporters.

[Skya Rhen]

20. Reply #14 might be of interest to you...

[ehrnst]

28. A reporter there made this observation:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

And if it wasn't a Sanders supporter-packed live audience, it wasn't for lack of trying...

[Tom Rinaldo]

29. That is standard

Our Democratic Committee has control over a certain block of tickets when one of our candidates participates in a political event sponsored by an outside organization, be that a debate or a Town Hall Meeting. For example, our committee had an allotted number of seats to give out when the then current Republican Congressman in our district (John Faso) finally quit running from a Town Hall meeting and agreed to a third party sponsored one. We used our networks to attract loyal Democrats to fill every seat that was allotted to us. This is all done in advance. Those who are moved to attend on the day of the event are shit out of luck, those seats are long gone.

It is also standard for TV networks to arrange ground rules for how seats to a political event are distributed, and those with partisan interests are given a percentage of seats to give out etc. Now the argument can and has been made here that FOX intentionally gave control over most of the seats to the Sanders Town Hall to the Sanders campaign. Possible but unlikely.

The FOX news division had control over this event, hence the moderators chosen were not the most blatant political hacks. The FOX news division is not unbiased, but unlike the FOX evening commentator lineup, they coexist in the media world with other news divisions and are judged by certain baseline standards and expectations, much as polling organizations are. They can be slanted but not wildly distorted. There is no more basic standard for broadcast public political events under the control of a media organization than seat distribution. Even FOX, when they did host Democratic debates, had to make sure that both Democrats and Republicans got advance tickets to fill a portion of the audience. A last minute organizing effort by either Trump or Sanders supporters to pack the house would fail. The tickets are distributed well in advance. People can and do rally outside, but it is way too late to get in. The Sanders campaign seemed to have been on top of it.

The only other way to look at what happened is through a conspiratorial lens, but hey, sometimes conspiracies do happen. I think the conspiracy theory here is that FOX made sure Sanders supporters could pack the house and overwhelm his opponents. Which seems to be the conspiracy theory that Trump latched onto. He was furious about being embarrassed on FOX by a FOX audience endorsing Medicare for All. He refuses to accept that real people could react that way. I don't think FOX is out to embarrass Trump. And believing that Trump faked his anger in his tweet storm that followed is just one too many tin hats for me to swallow.

[ehrnst]

38. Because you say so?

[Tom Rinaldo]

48. Based on experience as I said above

I've been active inside our County's Democratic Party for over a decade, several years of which I was on the County Democratic Committee Executive Committee.

And it's widely known that seats to Presidential debates and the like are not simply offered first come first serve.

[ehrnst]

49. So, tell me. Why didn't those who were posting links to the tickets on eventbrite

aware of that?

[Tom Rinaldo]

50. Could be the Sanders campaign handled their ticket block that way

Anyone can employ Eventbrite that way. From their page:

"Get started in minutes

Create a beautiful event listing page with built-in payment processing, analytics, and support"

Sure it is possible FOX handled distributing all the seats that way, unusual but possible. If so the Sanders campaign was on top of the ball and the Republicans were asleep at the wheel. That would be a feather in the Sanders campaign cap. We want and need effective campaign organizations.

I initially was just correcting an inference that was made above through the distortion of a statement. While I acknowledge that the crowd's reaction to Medicare for All could be misconstrued in regards to average Trump voters if the crowd was not balanced, national polling shows that a large majority of voters support the concept. In any case I think it was a coup for the FOX hosts to be embarrassed in front of 2.5 million viewers that way. Details vary between Democratic candidates, but many of them favor Medicare for all, and those that don't usually support a Public Option. The question asked of that audience concerned whether they preferred to stay with their employer provided health care insurance. It was a good moment for all Democrats when FOX news broadcast that type of response to their national viewership.

[ehrnst]

55. So you know what "ticket block" the Sanders campaign got?

While I acknowledge that the crowd's reaction to Medicare for All could be misconstrued in regards to average Trump voters if the crowd was not balanced, national polling shows that a large majority of voters support the concept.

Nice attempt to segue off topic of the studio audience.

It was a good moment for all Democrats when FOX news broadcast that type of response to their national viewership.

Do you have any stats on the number of regular FoxNews viewers tuned in as opposed to Sanders supporters?

[ehrnst]

11. Tickets were being promoted on PA and NJ Sanders2020 FB pages...

[Autumn]

12. That TV event was the most-watched town hall event of the 2020 campaign. That's a lot of Fox

News viewers too, not just Bernie supporters . It reached a TV audience that is not generally pro anything Liberal.
A couple of links I found

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-16/fox-draws-nearly-2-6-million-viewers-for-sanders-town-hall

New York (AP) -- Sen. Bernie Sanders took heat from some Democrats for holding a town hall on Fox News Channel but there's one result hard to argue with: it was the most-watched candidate event in the election campaign so far.

An estimated 2.55 million people saw Sanders' town hall Monday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the Nielsen company said. Not only did that beat the 1.35 million people who saw Sanders on CNN on Feb. 25, the Fox telecast aired before prime time when traditionally the largest audience gathers.

Sen. Kamala Harris' CNN town hall in January was seen by 1.95 million viewers, the previous high for a 2020 presidential contender.

The Vermont senator also apparently had one prominent viewer in Washington. President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that it was "so weird to watch Crazy Bernie" on Fox News. He said Bret Baier, who co-anchored the event with Martha MacCallum, and the audience was "so smiley and nice."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/bernie-sanders-fox-news-town-hall-was-a-ratings-smash-as-pete-buttigieg-and-other-democrats-consider-one

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) Monday evening Fox News town hall event was the most-watched town hall event of the 2020 campaign thus far, according to early Nielsen data. And at least four other Democratic candidates are open to participating in one of their own.

According to early Nielsen data, more than 2.5 million viewers tuned in to hear Sanders, a self-described “democratic socialist,” make his case on Fox News during the 6:30pm hour, prior to primetime. That total viewership bested CNN’s Bernie Sanders town hall event from back in February; and it doubled MSNBC’s during the same time period on Monday evening, and nearly tripled CNN’s.

The prior town hall ratings record for the 2020 cycle was a CNN-hosted event with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), which drew 1.95 million total viewers.

Additionally, per Nielsen, Fox’s Sanders event brought in 489,000 viewers between the ages of 25 and 54—a key demographic for cable-news advertisers—trouncing CNN’s 281,000 tally and MSNBC’s 208,000.

[Andy823]

22. One thing about the 1.95 million for Harris

those viewers will most likely be voting for a Democrat, but how many of those 2.5 fox viewers will be voting for a Democrat? I will admit some of those who watched were probably Sanders supporters, but the rest who are everyday fox viewers most likely made up the majority, and they won't be voting for him.

Just my thoughts here.

[Autumn]

23. Do you think that any of our candidate can win with only Democrats voting for them?

[Andy823]

26. No I don't

We need independents, and voters with enough sense not to buy into trumps BS, and the vast majority of fox viewers are "NOT" in that group of those who don't buy trumps BS, and they are brainwashed by Fox News every night. The ones we need to really be reaching out to are the 46% or registered voters who didn't bother to vote all in 2016.

Trumps die hard voters "did" get out and vote, the didn't stay home, and they won't stay home in 2020. Democrats need to address those who didn't vote last time, they need to show them that the Democrats will help them, and fix the mess trump will be leaving us when he leaves office. If I were running that's where I would be putting time and money into. Not trying to flip trump voters.

Of course this is just my opinion.

[ehrnst]

40. Independents usually vote for one party or another, even if they don't

claim that they "are" one party or another.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

45. That's called preaching to the choir.

I’m mean it’s great preaching to the choir but shouldn’t we expand the audience just a little bit?

We may not pick up a lot of new converts but it also helps suppress their turnout when they see our candidates aren’t monsters they are portrayed to be.

2.5 million eyeballs for the cost of a trip to the studio. Sounds like a good deal to me.

[Andy823]

65. Yeah I am sure that

going after "trump" voters is a much better idea than trying to reach out to those who didn't vote last time!

[ehrnst]

68. So giving their pundits the opportunity to flay him the next day to their regular viewers is

going to "help suppress their turnout when see our candidates aren’t monsters they are portrayed to be?"

Hannity Scoffs at Fox News’ Bernie Sanders Town Hall: ‘Gee, Let’s Hear Every Possible Communist Idea’

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/hannity-scoffs-at-fox-news-bernie-sanders-town-hall-gee-lets-hear-every-possible-communist-idea/

The review by FoxNews for his performance was mocking him as a hypocrite, and this is likely what FoxNews consumers will think about it, as they believe FoxNews over fact.

Bernie Sanders, at combative Fox News town hall, makes no apologies for making millions

You will need to google that title and get the link yourself, as I will not link to their website here on DU.

Other observations:

It’s unlikely that any Fox viewers will ditch Trump for the Sanders camp. Sanders, after all, said he disagrees with pretty much everything the president stands for. He called Trump “dangerous,” adding that “I don’t think the American people are proud that we have a president who is a pathological liar.” I’m betting that clip won’t show up on “Fox & Friends,” which regularly serves up Trump’s morning nourishment of sycophancy and bootlicking.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/04/16/bernie-sanders-fox-news-town-hall-medicare-for-all-abortion-taxes-column/3479747002/

Of course other commentators were laying the groundwork for their fans before the town hall:

FOX NEWS HOSTS BLAST BERNIE SANDERS SUCCESSFUL BOOK SALES, CALL HIM 'MILLIONAIRE SOCIALIST' AMID MIDWEST CAMPAIGN

https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-fox-news-millionaire-success-books-sales-socialist-attack-1395628

The FoxNews website comments section on the town hall is nearly 100% contempt and derision for him. Again, I won't post or link to any of it here, but if FoxNews intended to get their base riled up against him, it appears to have worked.

2.5 million eyeballs for the cost of a trip to the studio. Sounds like a good deal to me.

Even If those eyeballs were fans tuning in to support him?

[George II]

63. The thing about these "viewer" tallies, it's almost like a "click" on the internet - I'm sure...

....many hard core Fox viewers tuned in, saw what was on the screen, and switched to the Cartoon Channel. That was a "viewer". Then 15 minutes later went back to Fox to see if it was over, and then back to the Cartoon Channel. That's two "viewers".

[ehrnst]

39. Where does it say "not generally pro anything Liberal"?

Can you point that out, thanks?

[Autumn]

41. Do you see that in the faint blue highlighted excerpt? No, it's not there. Those are my words and

unlike some, I'm not in the habit of adding my opinion into the excerpt of any published article I post.

[ehrnst]

42. So, wishful thinking, not supported by your links. Got it, thanks. (nt)

[Autumn]

44. It's my opinion. Or are only certain people allowed to post their opinions like

the opinion you just posted that I'm responding to? No need to respond, I know your answer.

[ehrnst]

47. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, just not entitled to expect it to be given the weight of fact.

This didn't sound like an opinion, now does it?

News viewers too, not just Bernie supporters . It reached a TV audience that is not generally pro anything Liberal.
A couple of links I found:

But please do go on the attack of a "you're telling me I can't express an opinion" strawman since you feel a need to go on the offensive when embarassed.

You see, it was your opinon, but you stated it as a fact, and it was not supported by the links that offered to support your claim.

That is what is known as a factual statement.

Yours was wishful thinking, and there's nothing wrong with that, you just need to be aware of the difference, and just own it.

[Autumn]

51. See that blue box around what I said? You put in in the excerpt box so people know it's not your

words or your opinion. As long as you've been here you know that. You're looking for an argument and I'm not going there. You bet I'll own my words. I'll even post them again.

Star Member Autumn (34,154 posts)
12. That TV event was the most-watched town hall event of the 2020 campaign. That's a lot of Fox

News viewers too, not just Bernie supporters . It reached a TV audience that is not generally pro anything Liberal.
A couple of links I found

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-16/fox-draws-nearly-2-6-million-viewers-for-sanders-town-hall

New York (AP) -- Sen. Bernie Sanders took heat from some Democrats for holding a town hall on Fox News Channel but there's one result hard to argue with: it was the most-watched candidate event in the election campaign so far.

An estimated 2.55 million people saw Sanders' town hall Monday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the Nielsen company said. Not only did that beat the 1.35 million people who saw Sanders on CNN on Feb. 25, the Fox telecast aired before prime time when traditionally the largest audience gathers.

Sen. Kamala Harris' CNN town hall in January was seen by 1.95 million viewers, the previous high for a 2020 presidential contender.

The Vermont senator also apparently had one prominent viewer in Washington. President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that it was "so weird to watch Crazy Bernie" on Fox News. He said Bret Baier, who co-anchored the event with Martha MacCallum, and the audience was "so smiley and nice."



https://www.thedailybeast.com/bernie-sanders-fox-news-town-hall-was-a-ratings-smash-as-pete-buttigieg-and-other-democrats-consider-one

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) Monday evening Fox News town hall event was the most-watched town hall event of the 2020 campaign thus far, according to early Nielsen data. And at least four other Democratic candidates are open to participating in one of their own.

According to early Nielsen data, more than 2.5 million viewers tuned in to hear Sanders, a self-described “democratic socialist,” make his case on Fox News during the 6:30pm hour, prior to primetime. That total viewership bested CNN’s Bernie Sanders town hall event from back in February; and it doubled MSNBC’s during the same time period on Monday evening, and nearly tripled CNN’s.

The prior town hall ratings record for the 2020 cycle was a CNN-hosted event with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), which drew 1.95 million total viewers.

Additionally, per Nielsen, Fox’s Sanders event brought in 489,000 viewers between the ages of 25 and 54—a key demographic for cable-news advertisers—trouncing CNN’s 281,000 tally and MSNBC’s 208,000.

Note the bluer box? Not my words, the rest is my opinion. By the way, any liberal knows that Fox news is not generally pro anything Liberal. That the truth. To think otherwise is wishful thinking on your part

[ehrnst]

54. Here it is again:

Last edited Fri Apr 19, 2019, 10:14 AM - Edit history (3)

Here is what you stated - not posited as an opinion, such as "I think it reached..." but "It reached"

[div class="excerpt]News viewers too, not just Bernie supporters . It reached a TV audience that is not generally pro anything Liberal.. A couple of links I found

Still with me?

You then go on to use the links and exerpts in the grey box as support for your statement that It reached a TV audience that is not generally pro anything Liberal, but the links only talked about how the numbers of viewers were gathered, not the political viewpoints of the audience.

When called out on how that information didn't supported your claims about the political viewpoints of the audience, which rendered it wishful thinking, you backpedaled, and said that you were expressing an opinion on the political veiwpoints of the audience, contrary to what you had actually written concerning the political leanings of those in the audience.

Still with me?

Embarassed, you then went on the offensive against a strawman that being told you were expressing an opinion, and not a statement that was supported by your citations = that you were "not allowed to post your opinions":

Or are only certain people allowed to post their opinions like

the opinion you just posted that I'm responding to?

And tried to equate my pointing out my observation of your lack of support for your claims about the political views of the audience, with being "an opinion" on par with your unsupported claims concerning the political viewpoints of the television audience for the show.

You then try to save face by reposting the citiations that didn't support your claim about the political veiwpoints of the audience, then you try to defend your entire presentation by veering off on a non-sequitur...

Note the bluer box? Not my words, the rest is my opinion. By the way, any liberal knows that Fox news is not generally pro anything Liberal.

You were talking about the television audience, not the content which FoxNews produces.... but that large tv audience that you have no support whatsoever was a regular FoxNews audience, in other words, "that is not generally pro anything Liberal."

That the truth. To think otherwise is wishful thinking on your part.

In fact if watching that town hall on the teevee means that one is not generally pro anything Liberal, or must be a foxnews viewer, then how does one explain this?

No need to respond, I know your answer.

No need to respond, I know your answer.

[sheshe2]

56. +1000

[Autumn]

74. I see what you are saying. 2.55 million "Liberals" watched it and every conservative who

watches Fox on a regular basis turned off their TV. Obviously, you know for a fact that no regular conservative viewers of Fox watched the town hall.

Ignore is the most useful tool the admins have given us to clean up DU. See you next time.

[ehrnst]

77. Attack that strawman.

.

2.55 million "Liberals" watched it and every conservative who watches Fox on a regular basis turned off their TV.

If you need to misrepresent an argument to attack it, that shows you have no real rebuttal to what has clearly caused you embarassment.

Obviously, you know for a fact that no regular conservative viewers of Fox watched the town hall.

See above.

Ignore is the most useful tool the admins have given us to clean up DU. See you next time.

Sounds like there's a way that you can avoid seeing when you have been shown to be wrong here on DU! I'll see YOU next time, even though it's clear you wish to be shielded from posts of mine that you find painful or embarassing.

Carry on.

[lapucelle]

57. Have a donut.

You'll feel better.

[Autumn]

72. Have a drink, you might feel better. nt

[lapucelle]

73. I don't drink, but if that's what some folks need early on a Saturday morning,

I'd pretty much be the last person to judge them for it. (See Democratic candidate Amy Klobuchar's response to Brett Kavamnaugh if you need more details.)

Have another donut. What you drink with it is up to you.

[Autumn]

75. Again. I'm a diabetic and I don't do donuts. We have done this dance before.

[lapucelle]

76. Well then perhaps you can give the donut to a friend.

[Autumn]

79. You can keep the donuts. nt

[mr_liberal]

14. Bernie supporters will make fools of themselves

using this as an example of 'Bernie converting Fox News viewers' and therefore being able to win the general election. It'll be a good example that their beliefs are not based on reality.

It was obvious immediately that these people applauding could not have been conservatives or Trump voters. The reports that most of them were actually Bernie supporters should have been expected by anyone rational.

[shanny]

27. lol

Is there some reason you have a problem with a Democratic candidate kicking ass in front of a Fox teevee audience?

[ehrnst]

43. Not all Fox teevee audience...

[BlueFlorida]

53. Exactly this nt

[ehrnst]

67. +1000.

[BannonsLiver]

16. It was a carefully scripted pro Bernie event

With a crowd packed with Bernie supporters. What exactly is the “news” here?

[Autumn]

24. That was what Trump said. Trump is wrong too.

As always.

[BannonsLiver]

30. Not in this case, unfortunately.

[Autumn]

31. I believe Trump is a liar pulling shit out of his ass because there no mental capacity to

know anything and IMO he's full of shit in all cases. YMMV

[BannonsLiver]

32. I don't need trump's version of events

That you’re fixated on that is your business. There were others who said it was a pro Bernie crowd.

[ehrnst]

61. +1000.

It's become the new Godwin's Law for many here.

[ehrnst]

60. I believe FoxNews is a liar for the GOP that pulls shit out of their ass because there

is no mental capacity for FoxNews fans to believe anything that isn't spun by those bleachheads by and for the GOP, and IMO FoxNews is full of shit in all cases. YMMV

[Autumn]

64. An opinion?

Nice! Have a nice day.

[ehrnst]

66. Actually, it was more of an educational exercise.

There will be a quiz later.

[ehrnst]

59. The old: "YOU SOUND JUST LIKE TRUMP and/or HIS SUPPORTERS!!!"

Be careful of what you accuse others of. Your words may just come back to haunt you...

[Hassin Bin Sober]

25. So scripted the first question came from a republican operative

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">First question in Bernie's town hall with Fox News went to Joe, a "student" from Allentown, PA.<br><br> He's a campus coordinator with conservative campus group Turning Point USA. <a href="https://t.co/f1uoqJcxCR">pic.twitter.com/f1uoqJcxCR</a></p>— jordan (@JordanUhl) <a href="

Link to tweet

?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Hassin Bin Sober]

46. Yeah it was so well scripted the very first question was from "Joe" the republican operative.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">First question in Bernie's town hall with Fox News went to Joe, a "student" from Allentown, PA.<br><br> He's a campus coordinator with conservative campus group Turning Point USA. <a href="https://t.co/f1uoqJcxCR">pic.twitter.com/f1uoqJcxCR</a></p>— jordan (@JordanUhl) <a href="

Link to tweet

?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[brooklynite]

17. Answer: it was neither

Town Hall organizers don't open the door to the first 100 people who show up. They either balance the crowd with pros, cons and "no opinions" or solicit undecideds. Anyone claiming that the audience was stacked isn't doing it on the basis of any evidence.

[LongtimeAZDem]

19. You literally just claimed that a FOX production was fair and balanced

[Uncle Joe]

21. Trump won't do them, he just likes to go on the morning sycophant shows.

[Trenzalore]

33. I know several Bernie Supporters locally

They were all there. One got to ask a question. It was a friendly crowd.

[BlueFlorida]

52. There is a thread on this

https://www.democraticunderground.com/128772826

[George II]

62. Judging by the hats and t-shirts many were wearing in the crowd, they were primarily....

....Sanders supporters. Unless of course Sean Hannity was handing them out as they walked into the auditorium.

[Rhiannon12866]

71. This article says they reached out to local groups:

Bernie Sanders in Bethlehem: How Fox News picked the audience

How the audience for the town hall was picked
Fox reached out to various political and local groups in the area and mined requests to attend after it publicly announced the event. Fox said “hundreds” of people are on the waiting list.

https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/capitol-ideas/mc-nws-pa-bernie-sanders-town-hall-audience-20190415-bcs3vultkrbijcgxxpiyhhn634-story.html

[Funtatlaguy]

78. If a Dem does a Fox Town Hall, they should insist on audience selection.